Justice George Odunga Finally Moves to Machakos after Controversial Spell at Nairobi's Milimani Law Courts

High Court Justice George Odunga will formally assume duties at his new Machakos station on Wednesday, bringing to an end his controversial spell at the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi.

During his tenure in Nairobi, where presided over the Judicial Review Division, Odunga handled high-profile cases, some touching on last years highly contested elections. His rulings at Milimani earned him friends and enemies almost in equal measure.

Most of his decisions that were seen to favor the opposition side exposed him to harsh criticism from the government, which accused him of being an opposition sympathizer.

Some of the top cases he handled was the suit contesting the constitutionality of a raft of security laws that National Assembly passed in a chaotic session in 2015 after a series of terrorist attacks in Nairobi and other parts of the country.

In his ruling on the case, Justice Odunga picked segments of the legislation and declared them unconstitutional, attracting him a tag ‘activist judge' from critics.

A day to August 8th,2017 elections, Odunga declared that Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission’s (IEBC) county elections managers were illegally hired.

He also handled recent case on the deportation and detention of firebrand lawyer Miguna Miguna at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), where he convicted Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i, Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet and Immigration PS Gordon Kihalangwa for contempt of court and slapped them with a Sh 200,000 fine each.

Odunga will now be the presiding judge in Machakos, taking over from Justice Pauline Nyamweya. He was among the top judges who were moved by Chief Justice David Maraga in the recent reshuffle.